under hope

Chapter 21

The square was brightly lit, with tables and tables of dishes on display. Almost all members of the investigation team were here.

Zhou Shutong looked at the dazzling variety of food in front of him and couldn't help but feel a little excited.

But due to the majesty of the captain, she resisted the urge to let go and feast, pretending to be calm.

Lao Zhang actually noticed her poor acting skills, after all, she has lived for so many years

"Captain, just eat hard and stop pretending."

Lao Zhang said in a low voice to Zhou Shutong with a hint of ridicule.

This made Zhou Shutong shudder. After all, he was an old employee who deceived the team members, but he couldn't hide it from this old guy like Lao Zhang.

"I will forget everything I saw today. Zhou

Shutong gritted his teeth and said without looking back.

"Do not worry."

Listening to Lao Zhang's relaxed tone, she put down her airs and showed the happy expression that a girl should have on her face.

"It's delicious, much better than those convenience foods."

Zhou Shutong lost her serious aura and turned into a lively and cute girl that is common in the city.

Looking at the captain who was eating with a mouth full of oil regardless of his image, Lao Zhang seemed to see his own daughter.

"So cute..."

Lao Zhang couldn't help laughing

"Um? Lao Zhang, don’t you want to use this as an excuse for me?"

Hearing Lao Zhang's laughter, Zhou Shutong raised his head from the pile of food alertly, not forgetting to chew the food in his mouth.

"Oops, why didn't I think it could be like this?"

Lao Zhang narrowed his eyes and joked to the girl in front of him.

"I tell you..."

Zhou Shutong swallowed the food in his mouth and continued.:

"I will never admit it!"

After that, she turned back and started eating again.

"Hahaha..."

Lao Zhang smiled happily and turned around to observe the surroundings again.

The villagers were also talking and laughing with the team members, and the aunts and uncles seemed to have endless stories to tell.

A few were responsible for serving the dishes. The aunts took advantage of their free time and danced the sacrificial dance modified by them.

Everything was lively and lively. It would be great if life could always be like this. However, it seemed...

Just as he was sighing, the captain suddenly caught He stopped his hand and fumbled randomly on the table with his other hand.

"Water, Lao Zhang, give me some water."

Zhou Shutong patted the lower part of his neck, grabbed the cup in front of Lao Zhang and put it into his mouth.

"Hey, hey, hey!"

"Captain, that’s wine!"

Lao Zhang, who came back to his senses, quickly stopped the wine glass that was about to spill out, and stuffed the filled glass into Zhou Shutong's hand.

"call——"

"Finally feel comfortable"

"That's it, I'm full."

Zhou Shutong put down the empty water glass and showed a satisfied expression.

"Captain, don't you think there's something strange here?"

Lao Zhang asked in a low voice.

"It's a little strange. Since it's close to the sea, why is there no kelp?"

Zhou Shutong pointed to the dishes on the table and said

"It’s not this, it’s people."

Lao Zhang denied it repeatedly, then leaned into Zhou Shutong's ear and said

"people?"

Zhou Shutong observed the surroundings, and soon his expression became serious.

"Where have all the young adults in the village gone? Why are all the people here old?"

Zhou Shutong wiped his mouth and scanned every corner around him with sharp eyes.

"Is there anything that older people can't do?"

She asked Lao Zhang

"Maybe it's for sacrifice?"

"I heard from the village party secretary that this was the last sacrifice and it might need to be a grander one."

Lao Zhang recalled the words of the village party secretary

"What kind of sacrifice requires the whole village of young adults? I'll ask those old people."

Zhou Shutong stood up and cleared his throat. Just as he was about to open his mouth, Lao Zhang pulled him down.

"what? This is faster. Zhou

Shutong asked angrily.

"Maybe the village is doing something shady, and the old man is their spy."

Lao Zhang put forward a very bold conjecture.

"No way."

Zhou Shutong obviously couldn't believe this somewhat outrageous conjecture.

"Help! There's something... there's something strange... Oooh!"

A policeman covered in blood dragged a useless leg into the square.

Before he could finish his words, he was stabbed to the ground by a flying spear and died on the spot.

"All personnel are on level 2 alert!"

Zhou Shutong's shout made all the team members stop eating immediately and took out their electric current guns to form a circle to protect the old people inside.

Zhou Shutong took Lao Zhang to check the body, only to find that the outside of the square had been shrouded in fog

"Is this...a harpoon?"

Lao Zhang pulled out the spear that was stuck on the back of the corpse's head and looked at the strange texture of the spear head with confusion.

"Is this...coral? Just like the one in the ruins."

Zhou Shutong recognized it immediately

"But who threw it? Why kill the police?"

Lao Zhang turned his head, as if he was asking Zhou Shutong, or those old people.

"They came with the village party secretary and should also be considered sinners."

An old woman over fifty years old said.

"sinner?"

Lao Zhang was very puzzled.

"They are sinners who offer paper figures to the God of the Sea."

The old lady then replied

"In which direction is the police station?"

Zhou Shutong took out the portable light he carried with him and asked the crowd

"Just exit the square and walk eastward."

An old man said

"Lao Zhang, you and the team members are on standby here, I'll go take a look."

Zhou Shutong turned on the gun's safety and walked towards the mist.

"Feel free to contact us, Captain."

Lao Zhang knew that persuasion was useless. The captain had a stubborn temper.

Under the light of the lights, Zhou Shutong trotted all the way until he saw the blue and white ceramic tiles.

"The door is locked from the outside..."

She used an alloy gun butt to break the lock on the outside of the door, and cautiously walked into the police station step by step.

"If a monster did it, then the monster is too smart."

Looking at the smashed monitor on the ground, she murmured

"The power was cut off?"

She pressed the light switch several times, but the light bulb on the wall never responded.

Helpless, she had no choice but to continue exploring the police station room. As soon as she opened the door, the strong smell of blood immediately hit her face, and she scanned it with her mechanical eyes. Inside the room, the expressions on the faces became more and more distorted.

"What kind of person could do such a thing?"

She was very shocked. The murderer's methods were extremely cruel. Every corner of the house was filled with corpses of all sizes.

"This is..."

She found a pool of strange mucus at the back door of the police station. It smelled fishy, like raw fish. When she opened the door, she found a big hole in the wall behind, and behind the hole was a hidden road. jungle path

"Is that slime all along the way?"

Zhou Shutong was convinced that this was the trace of the murderer. She first opened the communicator to contact Lao Zhang

"Lao Zhang, I found traces of the murderer. How are you doing over there?"

"There is no movement in the fog. We are safe. How is the police station?"

"No one survived."

Lao Zhang on the other end of the communication was silent.

"You are still on standby, I will follow the traces."

Zhou Shutong explained the instructions again, and then hung up the communication

"Okay, now it's time for me to take a look at the man behind this."

Zhou Shutong geared up and walked into the jungle cautiously.

There was a commotion in the jungle, and there seemed to be something running in the jungle. They seemed to be afraid of the light, so they only dared to move around.

Not long after walking, Zhou Shutong saw Toru The moonlight shining through the leaves seemed to have reached its end.

She emerged from the bushes and found that this was a cliff at the back of the village. An old man was kneeling on the edge of the cliff.

"Uncle, what are you doing?"

She stepped forward and was about to ask questions when she was startled by the gills on the old man's face.

"Don't disturb me, I'm talking to the God of the Sea."

The old man's voice sounded very uncomfortable, as if there was old phlegm stuck in her throat.

When she saw a bloody twisted dagger placed next to the old man, her expression immediately became serious.

"Did you kill the person?" she asked loudly

"kill? No, no, that is punishment. Who makes them sinners?"

The old man's weird tone and sinister smile made Zhou Shutong very uncomfortable.

"sinner? Your method can no longer be called punishment."

Zhou Shutong raised his gun towards the old man.

"You have nothing to do with this, girl."

"Yes! You have nothing to do with this!"

After the old man's voice softened, a louder and more uniform voice came from behind Zhou Shutong.

She turned around hurriedly, only to find that she had been surrounded by a large group of people.

These people had green skin and long hair on their bodies. It has scales and gills on its face like the old man.

"It turns out that all the young adults in the village came here."

She said in a tone that seemed to comfort herself.

"Great God of the Sea! Come down! Come with our hope!"

"Get rid of these ignorant people and get them out of here!"

These strange families knelt on the ground one after another, worshiping in front of the rough sea.

"Captain!"

A loud cry gave Zhou Shutong some courage. It was Lao Zhang who came with several team members.

"Why are you here?"

Although she was surprised, she still used a reproachful tone.

"The fog cleared, and we heard strange shouts, so we hurried over."

Lao Zhang and his team members squeezed in from the crowd.

"What about the other team members? What about the old people? Zhou

Shutong asked quickly

"I asked the other team members to go back to the camp first. The old people have all gone home."

"But what are these...?"

After explaining, Lao Zhang asked Zhou Shutong again about these strange guys kneeling on the ground.

"I don’t know, but the murderer is the old man!"

Zhou Shutong pointed to the thin old man kneeling in the front.

"ah! He is coming, the great God of the sea!"

Those strange guys, led by the old man, sang enthusiastic carols neatly

——

Looking at the sky, high above, the stars have returned to their positions.

O great god of the sea!

Drive them away, drive them away, drive these ignorant people away!

——

"ah——！"

Lao Zhang suddenly held his head and started wailing, followed by other team members who also made the same move as Lao Zhang.

"What's wrong? What's wrong with you all?"

Zhou Shutong was very anxious when she saw this. She wanted to help Lao Zhang, but found that blue mucus was constantly pouring out of Lao Zhang's body.

"Woo——"

A long and ethereal sound rang out from the sea, and in a moment it resounded throughout the entire island.

"water! It's seawater!"

"Captain, help me!"

"I can't feel my limbs!"

"I'm drowning!"

The team members held their heads and kept wailing in pain, hitting their heads on the ground crazily.

"What’s wrong with you? Lao Zhang! What's wrong with everyone?"

She was at a loss and wanted to help the team members, but was frightened away by their wailing.

"Can't you hear it? Captain."

Lao Zhang raised his head and looked at her with bloodshot eyes.

"Can't you hear it? The murmur in the sea."

A huge shadow enveloped the guys kneeling on the ground.

They stopped singing, the team members stopped wailing, and the surroundings became deathly silent.

The shadow continued to extend, as if covering the entire small building. The island and even the moon were swallowed up by Him.

Zhou Shutong turned around tremblingly and saw with his own eyes the corner of the god summoned by the hope of everyone in the fishing village.

It was six stars with a faint blue light. Gems, no, those were eyes! She saw it, she saw the cyan pupils!

In an instant, she felt tremendous pressure. She couldn't straighten her body or raise her head.

But she still had hope, her body Her body could still hold on!

However, she tried her best to raise her head and saw what she saw, which brought her endless despair.

It was a wave, a wave 10,000 meters high.

She couldn't cry out, and was drowned by the black sea water. The entire island.

In the darkness, she could only see those six bright eyes.

When she woke up again, she was lying on the beach, the sun was shining, and the Republic patrol found her.

There was no wind and sand on the seaside, and her The team members were also lying on the same beach, and there was a damaged submarine in the shallow water.

She was not injured, but Lao Zhang and the team members were still unconscious.

"Jingle Bell."

On the way to the Academy of Sciences by car, Dean Lin called her.

"There is no island in the location you sent me."

Dean Lin said this

"But I was still on the island yesterday." she replied

"Did you look directly at Him?"

Dean Lin asked mysteriously

"What?"

She doesn't understand

"It's nothing. Come back as soon as possible and take two days' rest."

Dean Lin hung up the phone after saying that.